


A Kind of Magic

by Alice_h



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Gen, Illusions, Magician AU, One Shot, Street & Stage Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:48:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24457714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_h/pseuds/Alice_h
Summary: Adora and Catra are performers at the Fright Zone, a seedy magic club. Their night ends on a sour note when Adora reveals she's got another offer.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 5





	A Kind of Magic

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a one-shot of an idea where they're both magicians (hey Catra Gays!). I could maybe do some more in the future, but we'll see...

“Ladies and gentlemen,” a woman’s deep voice boomed over the speakers of the Fright Zone magic club, “Please get ready for… The Amazing She-Ra, and her assistant, Captivating Catraaaaa!”

The lights in the club turned off, save for the optics at the bar providing a glow behind the audience, and a single spotlight lit up a small area on the side of the stage. Loud music reverberated around the room, some pop song whose only suitability for the act was an on-the-nose reference to magic in the chorus, and the spectators fell silent. Entering from the right, long blonde hair flowing freely down the red cape she wore on her back, Adora strode confidently into the light, which followed her across to the opposite side. When she reached her mark, she planted each foot firmly on the floor, stretched out wide to give the mainly male audience the best possible view of her outfit, a skin-tight white and gold crop top with matching hot pants. The ensemble was completed with knee-high boots that had four-inch heels to take her height well over six feet, supposedly to give her a better stage presence, but mainly served to distract her as she put more attention into staying upright than her act. Still, she had been performing magic for years and could do the routine in her sleep at this point; having high heels forced upon her by the management wasn’t going to get in the way. The Fright Zone was not exactly the most refined of magic clubs, and the dress requirements for the performers reflected that.

A point of her finger towards centre stage triggered some pyrotechnics, and through the fire emerged her co-star, Catra, in an even more revealing purple bikini. She always played up the ‘Cat’ part of her name with a cat ear headband, a fake tail, and fangs, and made exaggerated feline movements around the stage. It seemed to be much easier for Catra to play to the seedier side of the act, and though she was as capable as magician as Adora, her main role was to keep up the titillation for the audience. Though Adora had tried, she never felt as comfortable flaunting her body, and the club’s owner, a slimy middle-aged guy called Hordak, had forced her to take on an assistant who could better fit with his vision of the place.

Catra strutted across the stage, back and forth, making eye contact with several of the patrons, then dropped to her knees, leaning forward towards the audience to give the front row a good view of her barely-covered chest. She locked eyes with one of the men who had begun to shout lewd comments towards her, then winked and licked around her lips, flashing the artificial cat teeth before returning to her feet to commence the main part of their act. Their first illusion required Catra to lie flat on a trolley that had been wheeled onto the stage by one of the crew whilst the audience was distracted by her entrance. As had been suggested by Hordak after watching a previous show, she began by sitting on the edge of the trolley, then lifted her left leg up and around slowly to give the thirsty spectators the longest possible chance to see the small strip of fabric that protected her modesty.

Once she was laid down, Adora took a black sheet from underneath and used it to cover Catra’s body, with only the girl’s head being visible, then walked around the trolley to show that there were no wires or similar tricks present. A brief spin allowed her to momentarily check that Catra was ready for the next part, and her assistant gave a quick raise of her eyebrows to give the OK to continue. Adora waved her hands over the top of Catra’s body, then, standing behind her, put her palms up and raised them upward. To the enraptured audience, the brunette’s body appeared to levitate above the trolley in time with the movement of her arms, although the reality was much more mundane. Catra was simply sitting upright and using a pair of shoes attached to a pole, which had been hidden in the sheet that had been put over her, to give the impression that her feet were raised too. The duo made several passes of the illusion, Adora adopting different positions on the stage to give a little variety, before the sheet was removed, the pole carefully hidden within once again, and Catra stood once more, bowing as the audience clapped.

A curtain fell behind her as Adora then took centre stage, performing a few basic sleight of hand illusions to keep the attention of the spectators while Catra and the crew prepared for the next big trick out of sight. When ready, a stagehand signalled to Adora to bring her routine to an end, then raised the curtain once again to reveal a small box, barely three feet across, and Catra stood next to it, holding a sword in a most suggestive position against her body. She waited for Adora to reach her mark, then sensually caressed the end of the sword, which, again at Hordak’s suggestion, had been redesigned to look more phallic, before handing it over to the blonde woman. This allowed her to open the lid of the box, and then climb in, using her flexibility to fit perfectly inside. Adora then placed the top back on and, after showing off how sharp the blade was, ran the sword through the box, piercing through to the other side. Giving the audience a chance to take in what had happened, Adora quickly disappeared off stage, re-emerging with four more identical swords in her hand.

As before, each one went directly through the box where Catra was curled up, making it appear as though there was no way she could have survived unscathed. When she finished, Adora made a big show of circling the box, kneeling down and looking in with a shocked look upon her face, though this was simply a way to mask checking with Catra that the trick had gone as planned.

“Okay?” she spoke just above a whisper, the loud music covering her voice from everyone watching.

“Yeah, fine.”

With the affirmation to continue, Adora returned to her feet, wrapping her fist around the final sword she had thrust into the box. Carefully, she removed it, letting it clatter to the ground behind her, then did the same to the other blades in turn until the box was clear. Another wave of her hand over the top, then she pulled off the lid and stood back. Catra’s wild brown hair began to raise into view as she rose up, stepping out of the box and towards the front of the stage to show off her completely unharmed body. To rapturous applause, the two young women took a bow as the PA system informed the audience that they would return later, then hurried off backstage.

“Great job once again, Catra,” Adora grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into an awkward side hug as they walked along the corridor to their dressing room, “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I know, you’d be lost if I wasn’t here,” she smirked, pushing their door open, “The Fright Zone’s number one magic act, we’re gonna go far here, I know it.”

Still feeling uncomfortable about how exposed she was, the first thing Adora did in their room was to pull on a pair of sweatpants and a jacket to cover herself up. But it wasn’t just the amount of skin on display that was bothering her, “Yeah, about that…”

“About what?”

“I had a phone call earlier,” her voice was unhurried and laden with subtext, giving Catra a feeling of worry, “It was from Glimmer.”

“That bitch from the Bright Moon club?” Catra had never been a fan of their more upmarket rival, finding that the sanitised, more family-friendly atmosphere took away their performers’ ability to be creative, “Why was she calling you?

“Hey, come on now, be nice. And she wanted to know if I… if I would like to work there.”

Catra cackled with derisive laughter, “Bet you couldn’t say ‘no’ loud enough, right?”

“I, um…” Adora stumbled over her words, “I said yes.”

“WHAT?! How could you even consider it? Bright Moon is like a kid’s birthday party – there are so many rules about what you can and can’t do in case it gets too uncomfortable for the prudes who watch. You really want to work for such a boring woman? That place is bland as hell.”

“And this place is a glorified strip club!” her growing discomfort over the way the club was being run exploded out with a yell, “Look at yourself, Catra – you prance around the stage with a couple of tiny bits of fabric on letting men drool over you under the pretence that you’re doing a magic show. You’re better than this… Come with me.”

Though she knew Adora was right about the Fright Zone not exactly being the most savoury of venues, Catra still felt valued and competent performing here. What irritated her most was her role as Adora’s assistant; being a skilled illusionist reduced to a passive stage prop was not how she saw her career going. She wanted to be the main attraction once in a while, to be the person who could see the audience’s jaws drop with her magic, rather than being locked in a box or behind a sheet as a tool for Adora to wow the spectators. Maybe this could be her chance to step out of the other woman’s shadow and make a name for herself as a proper magician.

“No. I’m not going with you.”

That was not the reaction Adora had envisioned. She had hoped the two of them could take their double act to Bright Moon, tone down the more sexual elements of the performance whilst keeping the illusions the same, and reach a wider audience with their magic. The Fright Zone was a sleazy place that she knew they didn’t belong in and had been on a steady decline into titillation ever since Hordak had taken over. Catra was always more comfortable with that aspect, but there had to be a limit for her, “Catra, please. Can’t you just do yourself a favour and leave with me?”

“Have fun with all the sparkly magic,” she doubled down on her decision; Adora’s begging only made her more determined, “I’ll be here doing proper illusions for adults, so you know where I am if you ever get tired of making balloon animals. Now I’m gonna get a drink, I’ll see you for the second act and then…”

Catra shrugged as she left the room, her sentence not needing the end to be spoken. They both knew that this was the point at which they split, where a five-year professional partnership that had spilled over into a genuine friendship came to an end. Not once had either of them ever considered that their work together would finish, let alone as abruptly as it appeared to have done on this night, but for Adora, there was little choice. In their time as a duo, the Fright Zone had fallen from a magic venue with an informal atmosphere to a sordid gentleman’s club, and she was starting to hate herself for playing into Hordak’s increasingly seedy demands over what they should wear and how they should act. She couldn’t continue, and the opportunity to free herself from his grip was one she could not pass up.

Though she, too, saw the direction in which Hordak was taking the club, Catra had a vastly different view on it. The hub of their performance was still about the magic; the addition of a little sensual movement and skimpy costumes wasn’t so much that it distracted from that. And besides, it felt empowering to use her body to heighten the audience’s focus – she worked hard to keep herself in good shape, and it was affirming to see people reacting to that in a positive way. She had her boundaries, of course, and these were respected by the patrons and the club management. The way Adora was going on about it, anyone would have thought they were being forced to give lap dances as part of their show; but Adora always was a little less liberated than herself.

She would feel sad about the end of their act, it was only natural to do so, but now Catra had a huge opportunity in front of her. Adora’s loss was her gain, and she could now take centre stage, move from the assistant role, and become recognised as a full-fledged illusionist. As she sat at the bar, sipping on a cocktail, her mind buzzed with possibilities – _her_ name plastered over the leaflets, the illusions _she_ wanted to perform in the way _she_ wanted to do them, the audience cheering for _her._ This was the moment her career could begin, the first step on a path that nobody had ever believed she would tread, and she would welcome it with open arms. As disappointing as it was that they had to part ways, maybe Adora leaving could be the best thing that had ever happened to her.


End file.
